DHS splits $1.5 billion counter-drone contract among 12 firms
· TexaHub · Drones, Defence & Security, Regulation & Ethics
DHS has named 12 contractors to a five-year counter-drone vehicle, as a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport underlined the threat to critical sites.
Two tracks, twelve names
The US Department of Homeland Security has awarded 12 companies positions on a potential five-year, $1.5 billion contract for counter-unmanned aircraft systems according to Sam.gov records [2]. The vehicle, named C-UAS, is split into a hardware/software and ancillary services track and a comprehensive services track; DHS received 57 offers for the first and 47 for the second [2].
Track one comprises BAE Systems' US subsidiary, CACI International, Dedrone Defense, D-Fend Solutions, EMS Defense Technologies, Fortem Technologies and Leidos; track two comprises Anduril, Astrion, BAE Systems' US subsidiary, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics' IT services unit, Leidos and Parsons [2]. Leidos and BAE Systems are the only companies in both tracks [1]. The hardware and software track has an estimated ceiling of just over $1 billion, while the services track has a ceiling of less than $500 million, and the work runs from the beginning of August to 2031 [1].
Fortem, which says it was the only small business among the seven track-one awardees, puts that track's estimated starting ceiling at $1.011 billion and says any DHS component, including Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service and the Coast Guard, can now issue task orders to it directly [3]. According to solicitation documents cited by FedScoop, DHS wants systems that can detect a drone at a minimum range of 2 km, track at least three simultaneously and mitigate threats at a minimum range of 500 meters [1].
Procurement under pressure
The award arrived about eight months later than DHS had originally expected, a delay FedScoop attributes partly to a funding lapse [1]. Pedro Allende, DHS under secretary for science and technology, said at a Commercial Drone Alliance event that "We're behind the hook" and that he is seeking Other Transactions Authority so the directorate can "move much more quickly" [1]. A further $250 million for state and local drone detection and mitigation is scheduled for fiscal 2027, and Charles Werner of the nonprofit DroneResponders said: "To date, there is no strategic plan that gives us a sense of prioritization" [1].
The threat picture shifted again on Wednesday morning, when an airport employee spotted a drone carrying explosives in the cargo area near the south runway of Leipzig airport, a NATO and German military logistics hub [4]. German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt called it "a new level of danger" and said investigators were treating it as part of a "professional hybrid threat scenario"; German officials did not name a suspect, while Ukraine's ambassador blamed Russia, which had not commented [4].
The two events are not linked, but together they show the gap the DHS vehicle is meant to close: buying detection and interception equipment through one contract is the easy part, while deciding who operates it, where, and under what legal authority remains unsettled. How quickly DHS components turn the IDIQ into task orders will be the first measure of whether the eight-month delay has been recovered.
Sources
[1] DHS begins $1.5B spending spree on drone defense — FedScoop, 4 Aug 2026
[2] 12 firms land spots on DHS's $1.5 billion counter-unmanned aircraft contract — Washington Technology, 3 Aug 2026
[3] Fortem Technologies Selected as Prime Contractor on 5-Year DHS Counter-Drone IDIQ Worth More Than $1B — sUAS News, 4 Aug 2026
[4] Drone carrying explosives at German airport marks 'new level of danger', says interior minister — The Guardian, 5 Aug 2026